…a pair of fundamental problems render casual benchmarking ineffective. The first is that people copy the most visible, obvious, and frequently least important practices…. The second problem is that companies often have different strategies, different competitive environments, and different business models—all of which make what they need to do to be successful different from what others are doing. Something that helps one organization can damage another. This is true particularly for companies that borrow practices from other industries, but often is true for organizations even within the same industry.” (emphasis added)

 

So if success depends on being different why do so many companies spend so much time, effort, and money trying to identify and implement other companies’ best practices? Perhaps it’s because they don’t know what else to do.

Until now.

My friend and innovation guru, Steve Shapiro has just released his fifth book on innovation, “Best Practices are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition”.  Steve takes Pfeffer and Sutton’s argument one step further. How can you beat your competition if you are implementing their practices? Best practices might bring you up to par with everyone else, but they aren’t going to put you ahead. If you want to get ahead, you need to, as Shapiro states in the title, “Out-Innovate the Competition”.

Steve’s new book follows closely in the tradition of his prior books. He makes complicated ideas easy to understand, challenges conventional wisdom, packages his ideas in easy to digest nuggets, and along the way tells some great stories.

If you are just looking to catch up with your competition, Steve’s book may not be for you. But, if you are looking to leap ahead and become the organization to which everyone else aspires, then I strongly recommend that you order “Best Practices Are Stupid” today.